Polio this week – GPEI
Polio this week

Headlines 

  • Launching today during World Immunisation Week, a new campaign calls on the UK public to get moving – literally – in the fight to end one of the world’s oldest and most preventable diseases. Running through to European Public Health Week, the initiative aims to turn collective action into global impact – with every step, stride, stroke, or spin logged in support of a polio-free future. Read more…
  • Last week, Ministers of Health from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Niger and Nigeria launched a synchronized regional polio vaccination campaign, in a renewed effort to stop spread of cVDPV2 in the Lake Chad Basin. Read more…

Summary of new polioviruses this week, cases and positive environmental isolates:

  • Afghanistan:  one WPV1 case and one WPV1-positive environmental sample
  • Ethiopia:  three cVDPV2 cases
  • Nigeria: one cVDPV2 case
Country updates as of 23 April 2025

More information on the countries that have reported cases and/or environmental samples this week.

  • One WPV1 case was reported from Hilmand bringing the total number of WPV1 cases in 2025 to two. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2024 remains 25.
  • One WPV1-positive environmental sample was reported from Kandahar

  • Three cVDPV2 cases were reported; two from Oromiya and one from Harari. There have been 16 cases reported in 2025 and 43 in 2024.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week.

  • One cVDPV2 case was reported in Katsina bringing the number of cases in 2025 to 11.  The total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2024 remains 98.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental samples were reported this week.